SPD: We melted down handgun once owned by Navy Yard shooter

Seattle police melted down a gun seized in a 2004 malicious-mischief case from Aaron Alexis, who died in a gunbattle with law-enforcement officers on Monday after killing 12 people during a shooting rampage at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

The disclosure added a footnote to the 2004 case, which has raised questions because Alexis was never criminally charged.

Courtroom audio reveals that King County prosecutors asked a judge to hold Alexis on $25,000 bail after he was arrested for allegedly shooting out the tires of a construction worker’s vehicle next door to his home in Seattle, The Associated Press reported Thursday. Despite the bail request, King County District Court Judge Mariane Spearman released him from custody on two conditions: that he not possess guns, and that he have no contact with the construction worker.

In a brief exchange, Alexis told the judge he could agree to the conditions, which were in force for 72 hours. When Alexis appeared in court three days later, he was released and the conditions were lifted when no charges were referred by Seattle police to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which normally handles felony charging decisions.

Seattle police released a police report Monday that said detectives referred the case to Seattle Municipal Court — although it is the City Attorney’s Office, not the court, that handles misdemeanor charging decisions.

The Seattle City Attorney’s Office said that it never received a police report documenting the malicious mischief and did not have the opportunity to consider charges.

Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said Friday that it remains “inconclusive” what happened, even though the department reiterated Friday that its records show detectives forwarded the case.

The department said Alexis repeatedly contacted detectives during the course of the case, asking for the return of his gun, a .45-caliber Glock.

“Detectives did not release the firearm, as they had not received paperwork indicating Alexis’s case had been declined for misdemeanor charges,” the department said in a statement posted on its news website.

The gun was held by the department’s evidence unit until 2007, when it was melted down, the statement said.

In 2010, the full case file — containing evidence logs, witness statements and other details — was purged from Seattle police records in keeping with department procedures, the statement said.

About The Today File

The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.